Howell Mountain tagged posts

When we pulled up to the front gate of Nickel and Nickel's Oakville Winery and pushed the call button to open the gates, we knew we were in for a premium experience with some premium wines. As we walked through the front entrance (pictured above) we were greeted with a glass of Nickel & Nickel's 2008 Truchard Vineyard Chardonnay on a silver platter (literally). While waiting in the parlor room, we took in the vintage furnishings of the perfectly restored 1884 vineyard house. Every structure on the property has been perfectly restored to better than original condition but with a specific effort to stay true to the original.

Originally founded by John C. Sullenger in the 1880's, Gil Nickel purchased the property in 1998 with two goals in mind:

It's a Tuesday, but I still found a reason to celebrate (and no it wasn't that I found out I owe Uncle Sam an ungodly amount of money). So I opened the 2006 Trinitas Cabernet- a bottle I've been excited about trying since I had their Chardonnay a few months ago.

Oakville is arguably the most sought after AVA in the United States, if not the entire world, and limited supply plus high demand should equal high prices. Throw a little Howell Mountain into the mix and you have a recipe for a high priced, premium Cabernet. This wine hits on the premium but not the price.

Grown on the lower elevations of Howell Mountain on the east side of Oakville, the 2006 Trinitas Cabernet Sauvignon has chocolaty, almost sweet Oakville characteristics combined with the elegance and focus of Howell

It's not often that you can find a Napa Cabernet for under $20 let alone a single vineyard Howell Mountain Cabernet. Mountain wine is notoriously expensive and, in my opinion, for good reason. The 2005 Bella Vetta "Ami's Vineyard" Howell Mountian Cabernet has a knock out nose and a long, lingering finish, in typical mountain style. It's medium to full bodied with lots of fruit, but not in an over-ripe style sometimes found down the hill in the valley.

Watch for this wine to get much more expensive as the vines get some age- this is the wineries first offering from the 2 acre Ami's Vineyard. But if you had told me the vines are 15 years old, I wouldn't have thought twice. Only 248 cases were made, and I wouldn't be surprised if K&L bought a healthy percentage of it. I